Funny How Things Work Out
by onlyonceinforever
Summary: The little story of a witch coming into her powers with the help of the Charmed Ones. PG13 for later chapters. :DISCONTINUED:
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed. If I did, that would be cool. But I don't. **

**Ashley, Matt and Raye are all OCs, you'll find out what's up with the first two, and Raye is the Charmed One's cousin. She's half witch, quarter Whitelighter, and quarter fire starter. But that's not really important in the slightest as of now. **

"Well, it's official. My life totally sucks." Ashley Whitworth slouched in the chair of her wooden desk, staring dejectedly at the report card in her hand. "Besides doing poorly in every subject except lunch, Matt still isn't home from whatever the hell that family thing he had yet. This sucks." Matt was Ashley's boyfriend ever since they met at a concert over the summer. At the moment, he was currently away in Vermont for some family reunion of sorts and wasn't sure of when he would be home. A second glance at the carbon copy did nothing to improve her mood. "How the hell can you get a C+ in GYM?"

Annoyed, she grabbed a random DVD from her collection on one of the desk shelves, hit the "open" button on her personal DVD player, saw that the disk was already in there, and proceeded to become even more perturbed than she already was for having wasted her time on such a pointless act. She slammed the disk drive shut and cranked up the volume, letting the sounds of mutant vampires being sliced apart soothe her raging anger. Just as it got to the good part, the multi-toned ring of the cordless phone resounded through the room. I suppose it would be too much to ask for that the machine be on. Ashley thought, not in the mood for human conversation. Two more rings told her that, yes, that would be to much to hope for. Grumbling, she rolled the chair back over to the desk and picked up the phone, stopping briefly to turn down the volume of the TV. A quick glance at the caller id told her that it was Matt. Goody. Time to fake being happy. She clicked the phone on and said,

"Hey." in what she hoped was a not-depressed manner.

"Hey! You sound subdued and mildly suicidal." Well, that worked well. 

"I don't know what you're talking about. And leave it to you to pull an obscure line from a fan fic I found and turn around and use it against me. I suppose that's why I love you."

"I had a feeling there was a reason. Now, change of subject aside, what's wrong?" How does he always know? 

"Nothing much. Just pretty much having the shittiest day of my life. How bout you?" In her mind's eye, Ashley could see her boyfriend shaking his head, dyed quills moving in motion, in response to her lame attempt to once again shift the topic of conversation of her.

"Nuh uh. Not gonna work. What's really wrong?"

"I told you- I'm just having the shittiest day of my life. First I get into a fight with someone who's supposed to be my best friend over a stupid thing, I left my lab that took 3 and a half hours to do last night on the dining room table, I found out I didn't have to do another lab that I did that took just as long, and then I get home only to find out that there is no chocolate in the house and my report card is sitting on the kitchen counter, just waiting to ruin the next multiple months of my life, and I really just need a hug." Ashley had the miraculous ability to say long strings of sentences all in one breath. This was one of those times.

"Aw...And I suppose me being away didn't do too much to help that." Ashley nodded, even though she knew he couldn't see it.

"No, not really. But anyways, how was your reuniony thingy?" Matt smartly decided to let it go and change the topic.

"It was really dull. As in, send-me-back-out-to-cow-country-so-I-can-go-cow-tipping dull. I thought last year was bad; this was worse."

"Aw...Poor baby. Now, are you just saying that to make me feel better, or was it really that bad?"

"Baby, you know perfectly well that I am physically incapable of lying with a straight face. Especially to you. Now, do you really think that kind of boredom can be made up?"

"Just about as much as a phone call to a certain ex-crush can be." The previous year, Ashley had been majorly crushed on a high school junior, and, on a dare, actually ended up calling his house and having a very lovely 20 minute chat with him. When told about it, her friend Ariel didn't seem to believe that had happened at first, before realizing that that kind of thing was impossible to make up. "So... when are you coming home?"

"Well, that's why I called, actually."

"Oh my God, if you're about to tell me you've decided to move there, you might as well just hang up now." Matt laughed.

"Don't worry, there's even less to do up here than there is down in hicksville. There's absolutely no chance of that whatsoever."

"Good. Moving on. What were you saying?"

"Right, that I'll be back soon."

"And, how soon is soon?"

"As in however long it takes to get to your house from the driveway." Ashley dropped the phone and jogged to answer the door when the doorbell rang. When she threw open the door, the sight that greeted her was the best it could have possibly been at the moment, save if Matt was Rob from Linkin Park.

Dressed in his usual baggy black cargo pants and tight black t-shirt that accented his muscular build, Matt stood in the doorway, looking even better than the last time Ashley had seen him. At the moment, his hair was a bleached blonde, with the spiked tips dyed light blue, as she had suggested when asked what to do with it next. Matt had a habit of changing the color of his hair every few months or so, just for kicks. A smile played across his lips, revealing two rows of perfectly white and even teeth. As Ashley lunged into his strong arms for a comforting hug, her eyes met his clear green ones. A 2005 black Mustang convertible sat in the driveway. Ashley snuggled up against him, taking comfort in his strong embrace.

"I thought you were never coming back..." she murmured, all idle thoughts of her current problems melting away as he stroked her back. Matt looked down at the top of her head, surprised.

"Didn't I tell you I'd never leave you?" he asked, the words washing over Ashley like a harmonious wave. She nodded, not wanting the moment to end. "Hey, you wanna go somewhere and talk or something?" She looked up at his curious face and nodded again.

"Sure. Where were you thinking?" Matt shrugged.

"The park?"

"Yeah, ok. Sounds good to me." With that, the couple broke away and Matt headed toward the car to start it up while Ashley walked back inside to grab a sweatshirt. Since her parents were away for the week on a business trip, there was no point to leaving a note explaining her whereabouts. She locked the door behind her and climbed into the passengers seat of Matt's Mustang. Before bothering with a seat belt, Ashley leaned over and checked what was in the CD player, as she always did. To her delight she found a copy of one of her favorite CDs by Jonny Was. Hitting the "play" button and cranking up the volume to a nearly unbearable level, she sank back into her seat and pulled on the seat belt.

"Ready?" Matt asked, speaking over the music. Ashley nodded and the journey went underway. A few minutes later, the pair arrived in the parking lot of the local park, where Matt killed the engine and they got out of the car. A mutual decision was made to find a quiet area, away from the little children and their mothers. They walked along the soccer fields until coming across a secret path that led to a spot over looking the brook, away from prying eyes. Sitting on the lush green grass, Ashley sighed contentedly.

"It's so nice here..." And indeed it was. Besides the perfect foliage, the clear blue water of the brook below them glittered and glimmered in the late afternoon sun. Warmth beamed down on them from between the gaps in the trees, bringing the spot to a perfect temperature. Matt nodded in agreement.

"Yeah..." The two snuggled together, each taking joy in the other's presence beside them. Ashley rested her head on Matt's chest, inhaling the scent of him that always made her feel safe. However, this time something was different.

"Hey, you smell different!" she pointed out, perturbed. Matt lifted up a corner of his shirt to sniff it, exposing his tanned six pack.

"I don't smell anything."

"Of course you don't, you're a guy. Guys never pick up on these things." He shrugged.

"Blame it on the four hours I spent in a car with no real form of entertainment."

"Yeah, OK. You could always take off the shirt so you don't smell funny." Ashley hinted, enjoying the peek she had gotten moments before.

"Or, I could, like, not."

"Ooooor, you could."

"I could, but I'm not going to." Ashley pouted.

"Awwwww. Why not?"

"Becuase I've discovered it's easier to do this with it on" Before Ashley had a chance to ask what, Matt pulled her close to him and kissed her passionately. She returned the kiss with just as much emotion, the desperation of time spent apart fueling the rush. The next few minutes were spent locked in this desperate, passion-driven enticement and when they did break apart, both had to rest and catch their breath.

"Wow..." Ashley whispered, all the breath having been forced from her body only moments before. Matt looked at her, green eyes piercing her soul, flushed and breathing doggedly.

"Yeah..."

"That was...wow..."

"Uh huh..."

"Think we could, ya know, do it again?" Matt playfully pretended to contemplate the options before very seriously nodding and saying,

"I do believe that would be possible." Ashley smiled.

"I'm so glad you're back..." She murmured, drinking in the joy that is teenage love. Then she placed one hand behind Matt's neck, fingers feeling the short fuzzy hairs that were in need of a trim, using the other to smooth back a stray spike that had escaped the death grip of his gel. Her fingers trailed down the side of his face, gazing into his eyes lovingly. She pulled him in close so that their breath mingled, both teens wanting the other more than anything. Ashley licked her lips, tongue dragging lazily across them, temptation mounting with each passing moment. Then, when neither could stand it any longer, their lips crashed together in a fury of lust and hormones. As their tongues met at a common point, the scene every teenage girl has dreamed about for years, the near-perfect romance, the passion, the lust, the love, the drive, the sound of a cellular phone ringing interrupted the desirable moment. Ashley groaned, not wanting to break away just yet.

"Ignore it..." Matt whispered, voice low and husky, lips close, the words tickling across her ear.

"Mmm..." The idea was tempting, especially as his lips met her neck and he began to work his way down to her shoulder, kissing all the way. Still, the ringing persisted. She groaned again and reached into the back pocket of her camo colored cargo pants to produce a thin cell. She checked the caller id and sighed in exasperation before flipping the cover open and hitting "talk". "Did you know you have the shittiest timing ever?"

"Well hello to you too. And yes, I believe you have brought that minor detail to my attention once or twice before."

"Whadda you want?"

"Sheesh, don't sound so exasperated. I just wanted to know what I should do for this part in my story." Ashley rolled her eyes and growled softly.

"Make it quick. We were just getting to the good part."

"Ooh, the good part, huh? Well then, I'll just have to make sure to keep you away a while longer, ya know, build the tension and such."

"The only tension that's gonna be around here is the tension where I come over there and snap your freaking little neck. Now talk!"

"OK, OK. Geese, you don't have to bite my head off." Her response was an more audible, very impatient sounding threatening growl. "OK, so, what color should the shirt Eric's wearing be?"

"Neon purple. I don't know. How bout light blue and white like the one Tokarz wore for pictures last year?"

"Oooooh. That one. All right, I'll go with that. Now I suppose I should let you get back to whatever you were doing."

"Yes, you should. Bye." With that, Ashley shut the phone with perhaps a bit more force than was necessary and turned back to Matt.

"How does she always know?" He asked incredulously. Ashley shrugged, thoroughly annoyed.

"She's Ariel. She always knows. Could have something to do with the fact that we practically share a mind, but whatever." She glanced up at the rapidly darkening sky. "Well, we might as well get going. It's getting dark and I still have a shit load of homework to do for tomorrow." Matt sighed.

"Yeah, I guess we should." He stood, holding a hand out for Ashley to grab, which she did. The couple started dejectedly back to the car, snuggling together against the cold that had set in in the sun's absence. The ride back to Ashley's was a quiet one, except for the loud music blaring out of the surround sound speakers. Once they reached the driveway, they exchanged one last goodbye kiss, long and slow, before parting ways. Matt waited until she was safely inside the house before driving away. Ashley watched him back out and turn onto the street from the window, wondering how she had ever gotten so lucky to land a guy like Matt. It was a shame their time together had been cut short, they had so little of it these days between sports and extracurricular activities and family vacations. Oh well, she figured, tomorrow's another day.

And indeed it would be. In fact, the coming morn would change the way they lived their lives as they knew them. And that change may be harder for some than others...

**Wow. That turned out to be a reeeeeeeally long chapter. I think I'm going against my typical oneshot songfic pattern with this one.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Ya know what's funny? People who think people who write fanfics own the things they're writing about.**

It started out just like any other Thursday, with the exception of the loud machinery ripping up Ashley's back yard at 7:30 in the morning to put in a new septic system or something of that nature. Normally, that wouldn't have been a problem, as by then she would have been not-so-happily on her way to school in Matt's Mustang. However, since their school let them have an extra hour of sleep on Thursday for teacher meetings, the teens had taken to coming in late, right after a quick trip to Starbucks. Ashley groaned and shoved her purple pillow over her head in a failed attempt to drown out the noise.

"All right, all right, I'm up, I'm up" she muttered angrily as she rolled out of bed. Before she could head into the bathroom to shower, the phone rang loudly as Ashley passed the desk. She sighed and picked it up, seeing that it was Ariel. "Uh huh."

"Nice to see you too," the voice on the other end replied cheerily.

"It's too early to be that awake. Whaddaya want?"

"That's nice. Well, ya see, I thought my mom was going to drive me in today, ya know, since my car's in the shop, and, well, apparently, she didn't. So..." Ashley sighed again.

"So you wanna know if you can hitch a ride with me and Matt. And don't bother correcting my grammar, it's too early and I don't care. Talk to me after I've had my coffee." She took a deep breath in and released it. "I'll call Matt."

"Thank you thank you thank you. Call me back?"

"Uh huh. Later." With that, Ashley clicked off the phone and slammed it back down in it's cradle before remembering that she had to call Matt. She sighed, picked up the phone again, and dialed her lover boy's number.

"Hullo?" A voice other than Matt's answered. Ashley recognized it as his older brother Mark, who had gotten engaged recently to some chick named Mariah whom Ashley had met her once when she was over at Matt's for the afternoon. She cursed herself for forgetting to dial Matt's private line. Oh well. That could be blamed on sleep deprivation.

"Hey, is Matt there?"

"Yeah, hang on. Is this Spaz?" Ashley groaned. Mark was the only one who used that name, one thing for which she was grateful. The nickname had come about one day when she and Matt had been making out on the porch when Mark walked out. She had spooked and jumped a foot in the air, to the extreme amusement of the brothers. Mark had taken full advantage of the funniness of the situation and deemed her "Spaz". Luckily, the name never caught on with anyone else, another thing for which Ashley was very grateful.

"Yeah...Hey Mark." Even through the phone Ashley could picture the amused grin on her boyfriend's brother's face.

"Hey. Well, I think the runt is still sleeping, so I suppose I could get him up if you really wanted."

"Dude, it's way too early to screw with my mind. So, please just go get Matt. He should be up already anyway."

"Hun, it's never too early for that. But, if you really want, I'm gettin' him."

"Mark-" One word, loaded with so many hidden threats that the secret service would have trouble finding them all. Mark seemed to sense this and hopped to it.

"Ok, Ok, I'm goin', I'm goin'" Ashley heard the door to Matt's room creak open and Mark stealthily sneak in, only to trip over a 20 pound dumbbell in the middle of the floor. She laughed, knowing his horrible sense of balance. Her suspicions were confirmed as a satisfying "thud!" came through the receiver, immediately followed by Mark swearing and Matt exclaiming "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN HERE!"

"Phone..." Mark handed off the object in question, still on the floor. Mark gave him a very strange look before picking it up.

"Yeah?"

"Hey," Ashley replied, still giggling insanely. "Your brother's an idiot." Matt rolled his eyes.

"Tell me about it. So, what's up?"

"Well, long story short, Ari needs a ride. Can you do?" There was a moment of silence as Matt pretended to weigh his options.

"I dunno, dude. We might be a little pressed for time." Ashley snorted in amusement. The only time the pair wasn't cutting it extremely close was when there wasn't any school to be late to. She decided to play along.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. This could mean we'd actually have to leave gasp! early!" Matt gasped in mock horror.

"No!"

"Yes! It might mean skipping our little trip to Starbucks." Matt nodded seriously.

"Yes, it very well might." They managed to maintain their composure for a moment more before bursting out laughing.

"That's funny," Ashley said between laughs. "To think that we'd skip Starbucks just to be on time."

"Tell me about it. That's only happened, well, never. That has never, ever happened."

"Exactly my point, exactly! Damn it, Mouse, get out of my head!" Ashley never missed the chance to quote from one of her many memorized movies, especially when the opportunity arose as perfectly as it just had. "So...Ari, ride, yes, no...?" Matt sighed exasperatedly.

"Yeah, always. You go call your other half and I'll pick you up in about 10 minutes, Ok babe?" Ashley closed her eyes, wanting desperately to go back to bed. The all-nighter she had pulled over the weekend was once again starting to catch up to her. "Hello? Ashley? You still with me?"

"Never. Always. Whatever. You know what I mean. It's early and I'm tired and I'm getting a headache and all I want is my coffee and to go back to bed."

"Aw...Well, if it makes you feel any better, Mark kept me up half the night last night-"

"Stop there. I don't want the graphic details. At all. Period."

"Got it. So, 10?"

"Yeah, I guess. Love you."

"Love you too. Later hun."

"Yeah huh." From there it was a simple matter to hang up the phone, turn it back on, and dial another number.

"Hello?"

"Yeah. 7 minutes. Be ready. Later." Ashley couldn't be bothered with full sentences so soon before a caffeine fix. Ari just stared at the phone, wondering what had just happened.

As usual, the second the last bell finished ringing, Ashley slipped into class, with Ariel. Their band director, Mr. Morgan, glared at the duo disapprovingly as they shoved their instruments together in near record time. In response, Ashley put on her best innocent face and held up her coffee. He rolled his eyes and went back to shifting through an seemingly endless stack of scores in attempt to find the correct one for that day's rehearsal. The girls exchanged satisfied glances before setting up their music. Ashley got by with that excuse on a very regular basis, since Mr. Morgan was a very big Starbucks fan and would typically overlook anyone who came in late with a cup of coffee from the place. The only time that didn't work as well as some people would like was when a concert was looming on the horizon, but that was typically considered to be a deadly time to approach him with anything, even if it was related to band.

The rest of the period passed without incident (well, with the exception of Mark Tokarz jumping up randomly in the middle and proclaiming he just figured out that he could play games on his iPod), as did the rest of the day. It was when they were on their way home that things started to get a bit more interesting.

Matt was driving Ashley home after a particularly strenuous jazz band rehearsal that had been painful both psychologically and physically as Ashley has figured out in record time. She inspected her middle finger, which was swelling beautifully and turning a spectacular shade of purplely blue. It had had a little run-in with the rim of the second rack tom, which Ashley blamed entirely on the positioning the last person who used the kit left it in. Matt was wise enough not to point out that the last person that had used it was her, during a last period study hall.

"Hun, do you want some ice for that or something, cuz we can stop and get some if you want." Ashley shook her head somewhat distractedly. She had moved on to poking the bruise with another finger to see how much it hurt when she impaled it.

"Ow...That was rather painful" she winced, having found out that poking an injury such as this was a very bad idea indeed. Matt looked over at her as the car slowed for a yellow light.

"You OK?"

"Yeah, fine. Damn it, Morgan's gonna kill me if I can't play tomorrow!" There was a concert in two and a half weeks and it would be only a matter of days before the band director started going totally anal on everyone.

"Get a note from someone. That might keep him from murdering you too badly."

"Yeah, but who-" The sentence was cut off in a screeching of tires and the sound of glass shattering. Everything went white, then black. Unconsciousness was inevitable.

**Ooh, the plot thickens! Next chapter we actually get to the real plot of this story. I know, I know, you were just starting to think there wasn't one, weren't you? Don't bother denying it, I know you were. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Yeah, this is the chapter where we finally learn what the point of this stupid story is. Yay!**

"Ashley! ASHLEY!" Everything was still dark and it felt as if she was under water. Sound was distorted, all her limbs felt heavier than seemed humanly possible, but everything was calm. This was a nice place. She wanted to stay in this place. Everything was so calm and peaceful...WHACK! And then that peace was broken by a swift slap to the face.

"Ow..." She murmured, much to the relief of those around her.

"Leo, heal her!" Who was that? Ashley didn't know, and she didn't really care, either. All she knew is that it wasn't Matt. Matt...What had happened to him? What had happened to her? What was going on? Why was she in this place of peace and comfort? Where had she been before? Ashley strained her mind, trying desperately to remember what events had just taken place. She-They- were in the car, Matt's car, coming home from where? Oh, that was right, school. They had been on the way back from jazz band practice. She played drums. Matt played bass. Matt...Where was Matt? What had happened to him? Was he in the same black place she was? She'd figure it out. But why was she on the ground? And why wasn't there any pain? The car...That was it! They had been in the car and there had been a crash. What had caused the crash? She thought hard, praying she would remember. Oh yeah, that was it. There had been a bright flash of light, then an explosion of some sort on the road in front of them. That was when everything had gone black. But what had caused the explosion? Where was she? Where was Matt? Why...Ashley sat up suddenly, sending a wave of pain from somewhere in her spinal column into the back of her head. Bright lights twinkled in her field of view like a considerable amount of blood suddenly rushed to her head. A hand out of nowhere pushed her gently back down.

"Now just lie back and try to relax." Ashley complied, more because of the splitting headache the rush of blood to the head had triggered than anything else. She couldn't put her finger on the voice, but she could tell that it definitely sounded familiar, like one she heard every day and responded to. Something clicked in her brain as a pair of hands hovered above her pounding head, a golden light emitting from them. As quickly as the pain had come it was gone in a wave of gentleness and comfort.

"What the hell...?" Ashley was confused. What had just happened? It was like, she didn't know, that she had been...magically healed? Nothing was making any sense, not that it usually did. But this was making even less sense than usual. What was going on here?

"Ashley, are you all right? How do you feel?" Ashley groaned.

"Like hammered shit." Even in a circumstance such as the current one, she could still find the time to rattle off movie quips.

"Well, I suppose that's better than the alternative. Do you have any idea what happened to you?" Ashley shook her head, still trying to put a finger on the speaker.

"Not really. Though, I'm sure you're about to enlighten me...?" The other person laughed.

"Even at a time like this, you still have the ability to be sarcastic. I swear, you will never cease to amaze me." The last sentence set something off in Ashley's head. It was the same sentence that had been uttered just before she and Matt had left the school by one of Ashley's best friends, Raye Halliwell. She had apparently been amazed that her friend could inadvertently blame herself for causing actual bodily harm and claim to her dying day that it wasn't her fault.

"Raye? What the hell are you doing here? And what's going on? And, while I'm at it, what's the meaning of life?"

"To eat cheese.Unfortunately, the answers to the first two questions are slightly more complex. Now-" Raye was cut off before she could finish her sentence.

"Matt!" Ashley had obviously spotted Matt sitting a few meters away from where she lay, rubbing his head in confusion. Another man crouched beside him and Ashley could see that he was performing the same type of healing action that he had used on her. At the sound of her voice, Matt turned to look at her, wincing as his neck cracked. Relief flooded both their beings upon seeing the other was all right. Ashley shakily got to her feet and hurried over to him. Matt remained where he was on the ground, obviously not ready to attempt standing. She plopped down beside him and hugged him tightly, as him he would disappear if she relaxed even for a second. He returned the embrace, pulling her tight against his body. "Matt..."

"I know, baby, I know."

"I was so afraid that I had lost you."

"I know. Shh, it's all right. I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere." Raye, who was standing nearby, looking pretty pissed that she was being ignored, cleared her throat impatiently.

"Actually, uh, I beg to differ. We need to go. Now. All of us." Ashley stared at her as if she had sprouted a pair of wings from her ass and was now hovering over their heads.

"Care to elaborate on that?" she asked, not particularly wanting to move at that moment. Raye ignored her and instead reached out and touched the confused teens. They disappeared in a flurry of blue and white lights.

**Ooh, pretty colors! Ahem. If I get some reviews, I might consider actually updating this more than never. Whaddya say, peeps?**


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